Chris Ruddyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/chris-ruddy
en-usFri, 09 Dec 2016 10:37:00 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:37:00 -0500The latest news on Chris Ruddy from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/newsmax-planning-a-big-editorial-expansion-2010-8Right Wing Monthly Magazine Newsmax Keeps Getting Bigger And Biggerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/newsmax-planning-a-big-editorial-expansion-2010-8
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:52:00 -0400Joe Pompeo
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4c6bd4327f8b9af056400400/chris-ruddy.jpg" border="0" alt="chris ruddy" /></p><p>Newsmax's circulation isn't the only thing that's expanding.</p>
<p>The conservative monthly magazine's CEO, Chris Ruddy, whose recent bid to purchase Newsweek magazine <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-newsmax-medias-statment-on-dropping-out-of-the-newsweek-race-2010-7" target="_blank">didn't pan out</a>, is planning a big editorial expansion.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/auton_on_the_go_at_time_inc_zrCM0JIkuEpXfRm24Vl2aO" target="_blank">Keith Kelly reports</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Newsmax, which has a fast-growing monthly magazine and a booming Web site aimed at the Republican-leaning heartland audience, has a $2 million war chest that it intends to pump into expansion of its editorial staff, primarily with additions to its New York and Washington DC offices.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Ruddy says he wants to expand the New York office from four editorial employees to 24 to 25 over the next 18 months and to add about a half dozen in Washington DC.</p>
<p>When we <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6" target="_blank">sat down with Ruddy back in June</a>, he told us:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The company is creating a new radio division with plans for a New York-based syndicated talk show. He's looking for a CEO to head up that operation and has brought on former WABC program director John Mainelli to consult.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Ruddy also said Newsmax is looking to buy some subscription-based online publications that "fit with our demographic."</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">We asked him if he had his eye on any other magazines.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">In the past, I had approached Mort Zuckerman about doing something with U.S. News [&amp; World Report], but he wasn't interested in selling," he said. "I think that's a great publication that has a lot of value."</p>
<p>It's not surprising, then, that Ruddy has tapped Matt Belvedere, "who had been running the video group for US News &amp; World Report, to be in charge of its video news operation out of Washington DC," according to Kelly.</p>
<p>Newsmax media, which also owns a handful of specialty newsletters about finance and health, brought in $36 million in revenue in 2009 and expects to make $50 million by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Last week, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported that Newsmax had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rejected-newsweek-bidder-newsmax-boosted-its-circulation-685-i-2010-8" target="_blank">increased its circulation by almost 93%</a> in the first six months of 2010, making it the magazine with the second largest circulation gain by a wide margin.</p>
<p>On Monday, Bill Clinton <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/bill-clinton-visits-newsmax-ruddy-meek-democrats-florida/2010/08/16/id/367634" target="_blank">paid a visit</a> to Newsmax Media's West Palmn Beach, Fla. offices.</p>
<p>Ruddy, a 45-year-old former New York Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter, was among the conspiracy theorists that probed the 1993 suicide of Clinton's deputy White House counsel, Vince Foster. But the since have since become pals.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/newsmax-planning-a-big-editorial-expansion-2010-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/rejected-newsweek-bidder-newsmax-boosted-its-circulation-685-i-2010-8Rejected Newsweek Bidder Newsmax Has Boosted Its Circulation 93% Since End Of 2009http://www.businessinsider.com/rejected-newsweek-bidder-newsmax-boosted-its-circulation-685-i-2010-8
Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:19:00 -0400Joe Pompeo
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4c11a7197f8b9a053e3d0000/newsmax-chris-ruddy.jpg" border="0" alt="newsmax chris ruddy" /></p><p>We'll have more later today on the Audit Bureau of Circulation's newest magazine figures, released this morning, which show an overall <a href="http://www.foliomag.com/2010/consumer-magazine-circulation-dips-slightly-through-first-half" target="_blank">2.27% circulation decline</a> in the first half of 2010.</p>
<p>But first here's a quick note about Newsmax, the right-wing magazine published by Chris Ruddy's Newsmax Media, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6" target="_blank">which tried</a>, but <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-newsmax-medias-statment-on-dropping-out-of-the-newsweek-race-2010-7" target="_blank">failed</a>, to buy Newsweek.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the company told us Newsmax circulation numbers for the first half of 2010 were up 92.63%, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">by far the biggest increase in the report</span> (actually, Food &amp; Family was, with a 650% increase), from the last ABC talley at the end of 2009.</p>
<p>Here's the company's statement:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">WEST PALM BEACH &mdash;<a href="http://www.newsmax.com/" target="_blank">Newsmax Media</a> (<a href="http://www.newsmax.com/" target="_blank">www.newsmax.com</a>), a leading independent publisher, <span style="color: black;">has announced a circulation increase of over 100% for Newsmax magazine, up from 108,187 in December 2009.&nbsp; The June 2010 edition of Newsmax magazine, the company&rsquo;s print monthly, had a total paid and verified circulation of 237,404, according to the mid-year ABC Publisher&rsquo;s Statement.&nbsp; For the six months leading up to June 30, 2010, the magazine will show an average paid and verified circulation of 181,985 for the first half of 2010. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: &amp;amp;amp; color: black;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;We are extremely pleased to announce our first circulation increase of the year,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Christopher Ruddy, <span style="color: black;">president and CEO of Newsmax. &nbsp;"</span>As other general interest magazines are cutting their numbers, our reach continues to expand to new audiences. This success also puts us in a great position for further growth for the remainder of 2010.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">It appears to be part of a larger trend.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/conservative-gun-magazines/19586119/" target="_blank">As Jeff Bercovici notes over at DailyFinance</a>: "The citizens of Red State America are hopping mad, and they're doing something about it: buying magazines. Among the fastest-growing publications in the first half of 2010 were a slew of titles for gun lovers, hunters, conservatives and <a href="http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/">NASCAR</a> fans."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rejected-newsweek-bidder-newsmax-boosted-its-circulation-685-i-2010-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-newsmax-medias-statment-on-dropping-out-of-the-newsweek-race-2010-7Newsmax Media, Two Others Are Out Of The Running For Newsweek http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-newsmax-medias-statment-on-dropping-out-of-the-newsweek-race-2010-7
Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:27:00 -0400Joe Pompeo
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4c11a7197f8b9a053e3d0000/newsmax-chris-ruddy.jpg" border="0" alt="newsmax chris ruddy" /></p><p>A spokesman for Newsmax Media just sent us the following statement about the company's failed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6" target="_blank">bid to buy Newsweek</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: black;">Newsmax Media made a serious bid to&nbsp;acquire Newsweek, which&nbsp;we believe is an&nbsp;extraordinary publishing property with great potential as both a print and online product.&nbsp;We will not be participating in the final bid process, but the company&nbsp;remains committed to its long&nbsp;term objective to diversify and expand into numerous distinct media brand offerings.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: black;">Several news outlets this morning reported that Newsmax Media, which publishes a conservative monthly magazine of the same name, was out of the running. The New York Times' <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/business/media/01newsweek.html?_r=1&amp;partner=rss&amp;emc=rss" target="_blank">Jeremy Peters reported</a> that The Washington Post Co., which put Newsweek on the block back in May, had rejected Newsmax's offer:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">That is the main reason the Post Company decided not to entertain offers from Newsmax or Mr. Ritchie, according to these people. The conservative political ideology of Newsmax&rsquo;s chief executive, Christopher Ruddy, is at odds with the editorial bent of Newsweek, which strives to be apolitical in its news coverage though is often criticized as left-leaning.</p>
<p><span style="color: black;">We called Newsmax Ruddy for a comment and are waiting to hear back. (We're told he's in transit.)</span></p>
<p><span style="color: black;">Ruddy previously told us that he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6" target="_blank">would make Newsweek profitable in 18 months</a>. He also stressed that he would keep Newsweek's staff in tact and not imprint his own political views on the magazine.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="color: black;">Two other suitors are also reportedly out, hedge funders </span>Thane Ritchie and <a href="http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Magazines_22/Newsweek-bidding-Then-there-were-three.asp" target="_blank">Phil Falcone</a>, who <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/5-more-staffers-flee-newsweek-hedge-funder-phil-falcone-may-be-trying-to-buy-it-2010-6" target="_blank">we first reported last month</a> was trying to buy the magazine.</p>
<p>The second round of bids closes today at 5 p.m.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-newsmax-medias-statment-on-dropping-out-of-the-newsweek-race-2010-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6Newsmax Boss Chris Ruddy Says He'd Make Newsweek Profitable In 18 Months, Bring Back Michael Isikoffhttp://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6
Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:14:00 -0400Joe Pompeo
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4c11a7197f8b9a053e3d0000/newsmax-chris-ruddy.jpg" border="0" alt="newsmax chris ruddy" /></p><p>Of all the official Newsweek suitors that have been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-first-interested-newsweek-bidders-2010-6" target="_blank">confirmed since the first bids for the money-bleeding magazine were filed</a> on June 2, the one that's raised the most eyebrows is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-newsmax-media-would-let-newsweek-objectively-report-the-news-2010-6" target="_blank">Newsmax Media</a>, parent company of the Florida-based conservative website and monthly print publication of the same name.</p>
<p>On Thursday evening, we sat down with Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, who was in town visiting New York. He spoke with us about his intentions for Newsweek over pints of Sam Adams at a hotel bar next to The Harvard Club, where he was attending an event that night.</p>
<p>But before we get into all of that, some background.</p>
<p>Ruddy, a 45-year-old former New York Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter, who was among the conspiracy theorists that probed the 1993 suicide of Clinton Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, founded Newsmax Media in 1998. (Ruddy and Bill have <a href="http://gawker.com/5273634/mellow-bill-clinton-now-bff-with-ex+smearer-still-pissed-at-ted-kennedy" target="_blank">since become pals</a>.)</p>
<p>Aside from its flagship title, the company owns more than a dozen web and print publications, including specialty newsletters on finance and health.</p>
<p>Newsmax magazine leans right and appeals to heartland America. Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are big fans. In 2009, Forbes called it "<a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/06/newsmax-christopher-ruddy-business-media-ruddy.html" target="_blank">A Great Right Hope</a>."</p>
<p>All of which makes it seem like an unlikely, and perhaps menacing, contender to buy left-leaning Newsweek.</p>
<p>Newsmax, however, <a href=" Newsweek's stellar brand and editorial representation would remain distinct from our other brands. Newsweek would continue in its mission to objectively report the new Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-newsmax-media-would-let-newsweek-objectively-report-the-news-2010-6#ixzz0qVrOv3q6" target="_blank">issued a statement</a> the day it announced its bid stressing that if it bought Newsweek, the magazine's "stellar brand and editorial representation would remain distinct from our other brands. Newsweek would continue in its mission to objectively report the news."</p>
<p>Ruddy reiterated those sentiments throughout his interview with us.</p>
<p>"I think if people can realize that if somehow I could become friendly with Bill Clinton after all my reporting and criticism of him, then I'm open and broad enough to have a liberal publication that's part of Newsmax," he said.</p>
<p>"I'm not Rupert Murdoch," Ruddy continued. "When he comes in, he's a powerful presence. He's gonna put his editorial stamp on. I have Newsmax to express my point of view if I want to."</p>
<p>Ruddy also said he'd keep Newsweek's existing writers rather than swoop in and clean house.</p>
<p>In fact, there's one soon-to-be-former staffer he'd already like to hire back&mdash;Michael Isikoff, the veteran reporter who announced earlier this week that he's leaving the magazine for NBC, and then <a href="http://mediamatters.org/strupp/201006070054" target="_blank">told Joe Strupp of Media Matters</a> that Newsmax "would not be my preferred owner of Newsweek ... It would not be a good thing if whoever buys the magazine is affiliated with a political ideology, either left or right."</p>
<p>"I'd probably call Isikoff and say, 'If you're not happy at NBC, you're welcome back,'" said Ruddy.</p>
<p>As far as strategy goes, Ruddy said he could make Newsweek "cash flow positive and profitable" in 18 months, in part by "developing specialized information products ... on foreign news, financial news, health news." Also: "My feeling is there's a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/newsweek-has-6-employees-in-dining-services-2010-5" target="_blank">large amount of corporate overhead</a> not related to editorial and that there would be room for cutting expenses."</p>
<p>To his credit, Ruddy has succeeded in making Newsmax a successful business over the past 12 years:</p>
<ul>
<li>The company brought in $36 million in revenue in 2009 (not $35 million, <a href="http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/rise-of-newsmax-defies-media-trend-ftimes-4aa24e91d0ed.html" target="_blank">as The Financial Times previously reported</a>), up from $25 million in 2008.</li>
<li>Ruddy projects $50 million in revenue for 2010.</li>
<li>Revenues have increased an average of 40% each year since Newsmax was founded, he said.</li>
<li>Newsmax's specialty newsletters have almost half a million subscribers</li>
<li>Ruddy said Newsmax.com gets between 3 and 4 million uniques a month, according to Nielsen. (Its U.S. web traffic is considerably lower than Newsweek's, as the chart below shows.)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://siteanalytics.compete.com/newsweek.com+newsmax.com/?metric=uv"><img src="http://grapher.compete.com/newsweek.com+newsmax.com_uv_460.png" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Ruddy declined to specify how much he offered The Washington Post Co. for the magazine, but said: "We believe we've made a serious bid for the company."</p>
<p>We're waiting for a comment from Newsweek about the possibility of Ruddy becoming its new owner.</p>
<p>As for the vibe in the newsroom, we've heard that some editorial staffers are freaked out over the prospect, and that others don't believe Newsmax is a strong contender or that The Washington Post Co. would accept its bid given its conservative bent.</p>
<p>Regardless, Ruddy said Newsmax will be expanding this year whether or not it acquires Newsweek. The company is creating a new radio division with plans for a New York-based syndicated talk show. He's looking for a CEO to head up that operation and has brought on former WABC program director John Mainelli to consult.</p>
<p>Ruddy also said Newsmax is looking to buy some subscription-based online publications that "fit with our demographic."</p>
<p>We asked him if he had his eye on any other magazines.</p>
<p>"In the past, I had approached Mort Zuckerman about doing something with U.S. News [&amp; World Report], but he wasn't interested in selling," he said. "I think that's a great publication that has a lot of value."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-ruddy-newsweek-2010-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-newsmax-media-would-let-newsweek-objectively-report-the-news-2010-6Right Wing Newsmax Media Wants To Buy Left-Wing Newsweek, Claims It Would Let Newsweek "Objectively Report The News"http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-newsmax-media-would-let-newsweek-objectively-report-the-news-2010-6
Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:21:00 -0400Joe Pompeo
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/f537544b53c8e849edb29200/newsweek-tbi.jpg" border="0" alt="newsweek tbi" /></p><p>Today is the big day when the first bids are due from all the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ok-its-time-to-take-a-look-at-all-the-potential-newsweek-bidders-so-far-2010-5" target="_blank">crazy people</a> who want to buy Newsweek.</p>
<p>But things have been relatively quiet, aside from a <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/handicapping_the_newsweek_mag_sweepstakes_jrwABBFC9GRXiVJXc5VSML" target="_blank">small Keith Kelly item</a> reporting that a "philanthropic buyer," like "someone akin to the late Paul Newman," is the most formidable bidder.</p>
<p>At least one bidder, however, has issued an official statement about its move to acquire the magazine.</p>
<p>That would be Newsmax Media, parent company of Newsmax, a conservative monthly magazine.</p>
<p>Here's the statement, forwarded to us by a spokesman for the company (emphasis is our own):</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Newsmax Media, Inc. has made a bid for Newsweek.&nbsp; Newsmax Media is a multi-platform publishing company that produces a variety of print and electronic products covering news, politics, health, finance and lifestyle, with different editorial voices and perspectives.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The company&rsquo;s bid for <em>Newsweek&rsquo;s </em>print and online assets&nbsp;is congruent with its objective to diversify and expand into numerous distinct media brand offerings, like any major multi-title publisher. &nbsp;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><em>Newsweek&rsquo;s </em>staff, advertisers<em> </em>and readers can be assured&nbsp;that if Newsmax Media, Inc.&rsquo;s bid is successful, Newsweek's stellar brand and editorial representation would remain distinct from our other brands</strong>. Newsweek would continue in its mission to objectively report the news and provide analysis from a wide spectrum of perspectives.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-newsmax-media-would-let-newsweek-objectively-report-the-news-2010-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>